Prof of 3rd Most Popular Class at Harvard and New Book “The Path”

Harvard Professor Michael Puett and author Christine Gross-Loh have written New York TimesBestseller The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life. We were fortunate to interview them about what makes his class so wildly popular and what advice the Chinese philosophers can offer college freshmen, recent grads and parents, as well.

1.Michael, your class is the third most popular one on Harvard’s campus. Obviously, strong teaching is always a big reason why students sign up. But what is it that attracts students to this subject matter?

I think students find the ideas of these Chinese philosophers to be challenging in a very exciting way. Many students today grew up in a world where they were encouraged to “look within,” “find your true self,” and “follow your true calling.” But this sort of advice can in practice be very confining. That’s why, I think, students get so excited by ideas that offer a fundamental challenge to these and other assumptions.

The ideas, developed in Chinese philosophy, in particular, offer a very powerful alternative vision to the ideas we hold dear in our society. Students’ interest reflects the fact that this generation seems really open to thinking about their purpose in the world, about big ideas, and about rethinking everything they’ve taken for granted.

2. Freshman year in college is a major time of transition for kids and some struggle more than others. What advice or lessons from Chinese philosophers would be particularly helpful to this age group?

I do think that one of our standard pieces of advice – “use these four years to find yourself” – can cause more of a struggle for students entering their freshman year. It can put a lot of pressure on them, causing them to wonder if they’re signing up for the right classes, doing the right extracurricular activities, meeting the right friends – because many of them grew up thinking everything they pursue has to fit and make sense, has to have some sort of purpose, and now the purpose is to “find themselves” and figure out who they are.

But encouraging them instead to intentionally do things that cut against who they think they are may be the wiser piece of advice. Instead of trying to find their “true self,” undertaking activities that break them from the ruts and patterns they have fallen into all their lives can lead to a far more rewarding experience.

3. You tell your students in your class that “The encounter with these ideas will change your life.” Can you give us an example of how you have seen students think and behave differently after having taken your class?

The ideas have inspired many students to change their lives. Tellingly, the changes are not of the “grand” sort – like suddenly running off and trying to do something radically different with their lives. Such seemingly grand changes usually do not, in the long run, actually affect how one lives one’s everyday life and thus, do not actually result in change. Because after such a “big change,” one risks simply reverting back to the usual ruts that can dominate our ordinary lives: their typical ways of dealing with people, with their interests, with their own emotions, and so forth.

Instead, inspired by some of the ideas in Chinese philosophy, my students tell me that they begin by altering their daily routines and altering how they interact with others or how they think about looming decisions. These seemingly small changes in one’s daily life are the ones that add up to significant changes down the road.

4. College graduates who are in first jobs and, perhaps, in new and unfamiliar cities are also in a transition stage. Are there lessons from Chinese philosophers that might guide these young adults as they start their careers? If so, can you give us an example?

Often, it is precisely at this stage that we think we need to develop a life plan for how to guide our careers. But perhaps this is counter-productive. Life plans are often based on first deciding who we are and then deciding, given who we are, how we can most successfully fit into the world. But if we are messy, ever-changing beings – as our Chinese philosophers held – this can be a dangerous, restraining approach. By thinking of ourselves as monolithic and fixed, we end up boxing ourselves in.

Intentionally trying to explore lots of different activities, on the contrary may open up far more possibilities down the road. Seen from this perspective, being in a new and unfamiliar city, for all of the anxieties that this inevitably provokes, is actually a wonderful opportunity to break out of our confining ruts.

5. Christine, in what ways do you think parents could learn from Chinese philosophers to better help their teens prepare for college and young adulthood?

Many of the same principles as the above apply: help your teens to think in terms of cutting against who they think they are, rather than figuring out who they are and living according to that. Teach them that small things add up to big changes. Encourage them to remember that thinking of themselves as authentic selves is not freeing, but limiting.

The philosophers we explore in our book encouraged people to create worlds around them in which others can flourish. It’s empowering for young people to realize they can do this right now, not by starting a nonprofit or volunteering, but by being attentive to how they behave in the smallest of interactions. Change, when thought of in these terms, is incredibly doable – and thus more likely to happen.

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Michael Puett is the Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and Chair of the Committee on the Study of Religion at Harvard University. He is the recipient of a Harvard College Professorship for excellence in undergraduate teaching and is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science. Christine Gross-Loh is a journalist and author. Her writing has appeared in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and the Guardian. She has a PhD from Harvard University in East Asian history.